Welcome to the Cape Breton Highlands, where land and sea meet in a dramatic embrace. Today's image features these highlands, which are in the northern part of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. They form a highland plateau that is part of the Appalachian Mountain chain. The region extends across the north of the counties of Inverness and Victoria and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Cabot Strait to the north and east, the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the north and west and Bras d'Or Lake to the south. The landscape is a stunning tapestry of broad, rolling hills interspersed with deep valleys and steep-walled river canyons. In the southern and western parts of the plateau, wide valleys shaped by glacial activity have created some of Cape Breton's most fertile agricultural land. Meanwhile, the interior and southern regions are blanketed in cool, damp deciduous forests, which transform into a vibrant display of autumn colours.